Degloving soft tissue injury

Degloving soft tissue injuries can be extensive and quite severe conditions. These may be open or, less commonly, closed injuries, which are known as Morel-Lavallee lesions. This article focuses on open injuries with closed injuries discussed in the Morel-Lavallee lesion article.

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Terminology

"Degloving" itself is a non-specific term but typically refers to open degloving injuries of the skin and soft tissues. Degloving injuries can also rarely involve bowel or be intramuscular.

Epidemiology

Degloving soft tissue injuries are seen in ~5% of trauma admissions in one series 1, with young males most commonly injured 1,2.

Pathology

Degloving soft tissue injuries involved the separation of skin and subcutaneous tissue from the underlying fascia, muscle and/or bone 1-3. They are a result of a shearing injury, commonly from being run over by rubber tires in motor vehicle collisions 2.